News Breaking Bad film in the works

The Albuquerque Journal reports that Vince Gilligan will soon begin production on a Breaking Bad film in Albuquerque. Very little is known about the film including which characters might appear or even when it's set, but the article does offer this one little snippet of details: "According to the logline, “Greenbrier” tracks the escape of a kidnapped man and his quest for freedom."

I was initially skeptical about Better Call Saul but Gilligan quickly demonstrated he knew what he was doing, so this time around, I completely trust him.

I never really got into Breaking Bad, even though it features my home town. Same with Better Call Saul. They just aren't my thing. But that said, I'm thrilled that this is happening as the film industry continues to provide good jobs here. I've even taken the dive a couple of times and served as an extra for a couple of movies. It's a lot of fun.

Didn't one of us speculate in the Better Call Saul thread that the next logical story after Better Call Saul ends was to see what happened to Jesse? Well, here we go.

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According to reports it will be Jesse's story and a sequel to breaking bad. I didn't have much interest in the idea of a Jesse show/movie but I had zero interest in Better Call Saul before watching it and now I love it.

I loved Breaking Bad and haven't seen Better Call Saul yet, but I have my doubts on a Jesse followup. I dunno, but I keep remembering how addled he was and totally out of it in certain episodes and wonder at how he could carry it? This would have to be one super-focused Jesse. Still, pretty impressed that they're thinking of this considering he was originally supposed to be killed early on, the writer's strike having saved him.

I loved Breaking Bad and haven't seen Better Call Saul yet, but I have my doubts on a Jesse followup. I dunno, but I keep remembering how addled he was and totally out of it in certain episodes and wonder at how he could carry it? This would have to be one super-focused Jesse. Still, pretty impressed that they're thinking of this considering he was originally supposed to be killed early on, the writer's strike having saved him.

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I thought Jesse was supposed to live and the brother in law was saved by the writers' strike.

Originally Jesse Pinkman was supposed to be killed off Breaking Bad during the show's first season. Paul says he didn't learn that until series creator Vince Gilligan called him over one day during lunch.

"He goes, 'Originally Jesse was supposed to die at the end of this season,' ... and instantly my heart dropped and slowed down a bit," Paul says. "And he said, 'We don't think we're going to do that anymore.' "

Gilligan told Paul that he loved the chemistry between Walt and Jesse.

"He decided to change the whole dynamic of their relationship and really the whole dynamic of the show," says Paul. "But the entire second season, the entire third season, I thought that Jesse could be a goner at any moment because there's many things that this character could screw up on, and he could definitely meet his deathbed at any moment."​

Yeah, the writer's strike meant that they couldn't really spare anyone. It's interesting to think how different the show would have been if he'd been killed off. As it was, they had a terrific onscreen chemistry together that helped solidify the show. They had many iconic moments together.

Edit: Ok, I see what you're referring to. In this case, it's frustrating since many websites keep reporting that as fact when in fact it's a bit more complicated than the writer's strike. It seems like the strike allowed them time for reflection and make a formal decision on the character compared to the ideas they wanted before the strike.

My only concern about having a Jesse followup is it will have too much in common with the Gene parts of Better Call Saul.

When I imagine what might happen in a Jesse followup I imagine Jesse having a wife and young child and trying to live a normal life, but still having to hide his origins and be constantly scared of being found out. Especially in the age of videos ending up on the internet. He's probably legally dead but so many people could recognize him. Also I imagine that his parents are driven crazy by the small possibility their boy may still be alive somewhere so they may hire a PI. From their perspective, they'd be able to live with Jesse being dead, and they'd be able to live with Jesse being in jail, but him maybe possibly still being somewhere out there? That's absolute torture.

I forget: What do we know about his parents? Did we actually ever see them?

One point of interest comes to mind. I've always imagined Jesse would flee Albuquerque and probably New Mexico entirely, if not the States entirely, too, possibly fleeing to Mexico (Does he know Spanish? I forget). If he did any of those, then why would the movie be filming in Albuquerque? Or is the production headquarters just going to be there and they'll start filming elsewhere?

If he did any of those, then why would the movie be filming in Albuquerque? Or is the production headquarters just going to be there and they'll start filming elsewhere?

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As you can imagine, this has been the buzz of the day around here, especially with the local radio talkers. And the assumption seemed to be that it will be filming here.

There are even theories going around suggesting that it isn't a coincidence that this was announced only days after MLG was elected governor, as bringing "Hollywood back" was a big part of her campaign. Richardson was big with the film industry and he put in a lot of tax incentives and other policies in the late naughts to really build a film industry. (Which is why BB was here in the first place.) But our current governor got rid of a lot of that. (And, yes, she did even use some "liberal Hollywood" rhetoric at one time.) But I digress.

The point is there is a concerted effort to make New Mexico and ABQ an alternative to Canada. As you may know, about a month ago, Netflix just purchased old studio land they plan on turning into a billion-dollar production facility. (This too happened after Grisham had finally widened the gap in the polls.) Which has already lured-in smaller studios interest, building on the infrastructure that was already here. So, by the time the BB movie starts shooting, there's no reason why they won't be able to just film the whole thing here.

I loved Breaking Bad and haven't seen Better Call Saul yet, but I have my doubts on a Jesse followup. I dunno, but I keep remembering how addled he was and totally out of it in certain episodes and wonder at how he could carry it? This would have to be one super-focused Jesse. Still, pretty impressed that they're thinking of this considering he was originally supposed to be killed early on, the writer's strike having saved him.

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I, too, have my doubts about a Jesse sequel.

I love Better Call Saul. Jimmy McGill is a very entertaining character. And Odenkirk plays the character perfectly with the mixture of comedy and drama. I don't see the Jesse character as being in the same league as Jimmy. Maybe Jesse's story is good enough for just one movie. Otherwise, I can't see the character as nearly entertaining enough to be the focus of an entire series.

Now we know why we see the flash forwards on "Better Call Saul." Next season expect to see one were Jessie shows up and asks him for help and we are left wondering what that could be about until the movie starts. Plus the movie is going to open with a overhead shot of Walter White lying, dead from the final episode. But then you see his fingers start to move. You hear his slow breathing. Turns out he is still alive and before you know it he is getting up and knows he has to go on the run. He will of course bump into Saul and Jessie.